Premature babies. Kangaroo Mother Method

Premature babies need special care at birth. Usually, a baby is considered premature when it is born before the 37 weeks of pregnancy . Although premature babies formerly had a high mortality rate due to medical ignorance of the care they needed, today these techniques have improved a lot, to the po

Premature babies need special care at birth. Usually, a baby is considered premature when it is born before the 37 weeks of pregnancy.

Although premature babies formerly had a high mortality rate due to medical ignorance of the care they needed, today these techniques have improved a lot, to the point that 80% of children born at 28 weeks survive .

Normally, these babies require hospitalization and remain in the incubator for a while until they reach a satisfactory development, although there is also the possibility of applying the so-called "Kangaroo Mother's Method" (MMC). Kangaroo Mother Method for preterm infants The Kangaroo Mother Method was designed by Dr.

Édgar Rey Sanabria

in Bogotá, Colombia, in 1978, and developed one year later by pediatricians Héctor Martínez Gómez and Luis Navarrete Pérez. This method, inspired by the development of marsupials busca, seeks to reduce as far as possible the time of separation of the mother and the newborn when a premature birth has occurred. In addition, it aims to reduce the incidence of hospital diseases in babies and promote survival in the case of limited medical resources, such as a limited number of incubators.

After several modifications of the MMC, the Kangaroo Mother Program was created in 1993, which was approved by UNICEFand recommended by the

World Health Organization (WHO), with the aim of returning the role to parents. How the Kangaroo Mother Method works According to the National Institute of Pediatrics of Mexico (INP), the MMC can be used in babies whose birth weight is less than 2,000 grams and is based on maintaining direct contact of the child with the body of the mother or father in an upright position. In this way, in addition to offering the child the

necessary heat

, the mother-child bond is also strengthened, breastfeeding is encouraged and the baby is sent home as soon as possible since his extrauterine life is improved, provided his condition of health allows it.

It is important to keep in mind that, for the duration of the MMC, the parents must maintain a medical surveillanceuntil 40 weeks of life after delivery. In addition, the selection of the child should be appropriate, since otherwise there could be complications and require a new hospitalization.

Patricia García . Collaborator of GuiaInfantil.com